Creators:
Lauren SchmidtCast:
Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring, Anya Chalotra, Eamon Farren, Adam Levy, Jodhi May, Lars Mikkelsen, Mimi Ndiweni, Wilson Mbomio (more)VOD (1)
Seasons(4) / Episodes(32)
Plots(1)
The witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. (Netflix)
Videos (11)
Reviews (10)
In the world of South Park, they'd probably say: “They killed Witcher, you bastards!” More specifically, Lauren Schimdt ground Sapkowski into disposable paper and wiped her ass with it. I found the first season excellent, event though it’s been criticized as confusing. Its interweaving of storylines was easy to navigate, and although it visibly suffered from a small budget, it did a good job of promoting the fantasy genre. The budget obviously swelled in season 2 – Kaer Morhen looked beautiful, all honour – but the writers from season 1 must have been eaten by some brux during the filming and they messed it up as much as they could. When Lauren's pros were outdone in terms of the script's engagingness and narrative richness by the CD Projekt enthusiasts in the excellent third The Witcher game, I don't think the girl could put it past her. And a little side note: sorry, but proud elven warriors can't be played by black boys with boyz-n-the-hood haircuts, just not really. This forcefully pushed political correctness is turning the world upside down.
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Season 1 – 100% – For some time now, I have been trying to name the feeling that this unexpected hit has evoked in me, and the word hunger best captures it. Hunger for anything related to the Continent and all its realms, hunger for knowledge of other magical or predatory creatures, and hunger for more adventures of the titular hero, whether or not in the form of individual morsels or as part of a grand story that might change the world. I enjoy all levels of the story (although I unwittingly hurried Ciri along on her journey), and I appreciate both the lighter side and the moments when things get intense and I know that this or that adventure simply won't have a happy ending. As I am encountering The Witcher for the first time and have so much study material ahead of me, especially in book form, I can't wait for comparisons of what I already know and all the possible new things. P.S.: For viewers who want to criticize the series because of the skin color of individual actors, I have only one message, and that is "Fuc-" I mean "Fie upon ye!" Season 2 – 90% – Since I spent a nice eight books' worth of time with Geralt during the break between seasons, the experience of continuing some things is different, but fortunately, some things remain the same. Equally good. While I am not a fan of excessively distorting the source material, I have no problem with it here in the slightest. The character of the main protagonists remains fundamentally unchanged, and the adventures that were not present in the books serve as fillers for those parts during which beloved female characters would disappear for half a year. The only disappointment is the misleading of events that do not happen at all despite the episode's title (Dear Friend), but other than that, I have no objections, and I enjoy the open court intrigues that appear subtly earlier and are no longer hidden between the lines. Given the approaching conflicts, such a finding is a great relief. Special recognition must also be given to Freya Allan, who can lighten up and play the potentially thankless and stubborn role in any second, to the point where I would walk through fire for Ciri. Season 3 – 90% – Lately I've been loath to write, talk, or in any way comment on The Witcher. It's become strangely aggressive territory to spew the most stinking manure on the series adaptation using -phobic, racist, and everything else with moronic attempts at wit, or using that well-worn phrase about Netflix not leaving a page out of the books. It's that kind of reasoning that this season serves best. Or rather, it would if the loudest boos had at least read the prologue of the novels. But just so I don't rant about the faithless, I marvel at how deftly the creators have handled such problematic source material. When the saga of Geralt, Ciri, and the others was transformed from short stories into an honest-to-goodness fantasy saga, it brought with it a lot of deliberate, sometimes drawn-out sections full of conversations between kings and councilors and witches, rife with repeated intrigue, revealed intentions, and geographical terms that may or may not have had an impact on the main plot. On screen, however, all the action is coherently setting up a clear plot climax, a conclave of what came before it. The fascinating event steals almost three episodes for itself. And finally, my deepest gratitude goes to the pre-finale action in the desert. The seemingly endless literary wanderings here have both a plot-building and psychologically comprehensible aspect for those involved, confidently stepping into new regions and cast changes that will hopefully not affect the series' long-term ambitions.
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I've never read “The Witcher”, and I've never seen the original Polish film or series, so I was coming to this latest adaptation with a clean slate. The quality of the episodes varied, I was most impressed with the third episode with Striga and least impressed with the sixth, featuring the dragon hunters. As for the cast, there was a lot of variety, some of the characters were really great and I was curious to see how they would turn out, others were incredibly annoying and I didn't care how they ended up. Henry Cavill as Geralt could have pushed the envelope less and not emulate Ben Affleck’s Batman. Yennefer was the most divisive character for me personally, you root for her for a minute, then you want to hit her over the head with a gin bottle. I liked the temporal representation of the story, where in the first few episodes you slowly figure out what the storylines were. As a result, the first season of The Witcher is somewhere between three and four stars for me, but I'll give it a raise in this case. If a second season is made, it would definitely be better to cut down on the talking and increase the action.
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Netflix hits the bull's eye again, providing an ointment against pangs of longing for Game of Thrones. I know Sapkowski’s original only from hearsay and I was saving it (for later), but it’s great fun like everyone promised. Swords and magic in all shapes and sizes (if only someone could film a good Conan at last) and with the perfect cast. Cavill plays a hardass mountain of a guy, roaring and muttering (I have been given an assignment to look like him, so beware of the side effects if you watch this with your better half), enjoying himself thoroughly. I did find it a bit hard to decide when the action was taking place (while I managed season 2 of Westworld with no problem), but in the end everything fell into place. The series finale gives you an appetite for more stories like this, so lay them on us.
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Mixed feelings. At times a dark romp, an atmospheric chivalric epic, a visually captivating show. At times a confusing mess of characters, cardboard sets and boring side-quests in the script. A viewer unfamiliar with the source material will sometimes be terribly confused, or even completely unable to grasp the new characters and locations. Praise for the imaginative concept of separate mini-episodes, which in many ways are not very related and yet in individual details systematically bring each character to the point where their fates intersect at expected moments, even in unpredictable situations. The first bold episode, which, by the way, is the only one that offers absolutely every reason the viewer should give Witcher a chance, is followed by others where those unfamiliar with the source material already feel a certain decline in the way the story is presented and conceived. The action in Blaviken in the opening episode remains by far the best moment of the entire season.
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